The Official Port City Community Church Blog

step [step] , noun, verb,stepped, step·ping.
Pronunciation: \ˈstep\
a move, act, or proceeding, as toward some end or in the general course of some action; stage, measure, or period

Around Port City Church you often hear someone talking about their “next step.” You may hear it in the hallways while passing by a stranger or sitting in the auditorium as Mike shares the heart behind PC3. For some their next step may be heading down to a Starting Point or Step 2 orientation. For others it may involve signing up for Financial Peace University or an upcoming Small Group Connection. But on Sunday, we took an entire day to focus on what a possible next step might look like for many of you who call Port City Church your home.

We call this annual Sunday service “JUMP IN“ and its sole purpose was to show how you are a crucial piece of making each and every environment possible at PC3. So if you have been at PC3 for any length of time, and don’t volunteer, we invite you to simply “Jump In.” Everyone you see behind the cameras, in our Family Ministries, or greeting at the doors all started by simply jumping in. We encourage you to do the same—and our staff is here to help you find a great place to serve!

On Sunday we asked everyone to browse the different ministry tables that interested them and simply ask questions. There was no pressure to sign up. We want to provide a context where people could check out volunteer opportunities that were available here at PC3. We also encouraged everyone to take the upcoming week to pray about what their next step might be and then return this Sunday, March 7th to Jump In. This Sunday we will have the tables out once again before and after each service for you to begin signing up.

It’s interesting how your perspective can change in an instant. Yesterday part of our TILT team spent the day at two public schools doing assemblies for the kids and staff. I can still see the faces of these kids as they were mesmerized by what was taking place. The idea of virtues seems all but lost these days as kids are being taught by our culture that the only thing that matters is what you are on the outside. Forget the issue of character. How you treat others has taken a back seat to what can we get from others. Kids bully, lie, cheat, and do everything they can to get what they think they want. We have to find ways to help them. And that starts with the family.

An Investment in the Family

A family enjoying our last TILT

As you may have heard, TILT is designed as a family experience, something to be shared. It’s one thing to ask a child how their day was, but another to spend the day with them. As culture continues to exert pressure on the family, we will have to increasingly be more intentional about how we shape opportunities for the family.

Some of my favorite places to spend time with my family are the beach, camping trips, and Disney world and other theme parks. For many, TILT is one the local family favorites. Kids love the music, the lights, the stories, and the actors. It’s real to them, and they feel an enormous amount of value because adults are creating this for them. And it seems that the adults in the room are thoroughly engaged as well. Any time a parent takes time to be with their kids, they feel confident, secure, and loved.

Watching the stage actors at TILT

Those kids in the TILT room are being given a chance to develop character, to think about and work on the development of what is going on inside of them. It’s great to see how families can have a meaningful experience together as they participate in an evening at TILT. We want to come alongside families as they walk with God, and this is just one way we can do that.

Come join us this Friday night, March 5th, as we explore the virtue of HONESTY, and find out together how choosing to be truthful in what you say and do can make a difference in your life.  To find out when other TILT events are coming up and future virtues we will be presenting visit the Treasure Island Live Theater page on our website today.

A few pictures from our last TILT event

Story.  There is something about a good story that can move us, especially when it’s true.  In Overflow, our college ministry at Port City Church, we wanted a way for people to tell us how they have grown in their walk with God.  The goal was to highlight different topics and give people who come to Overflow the opportunity to give back.  Our team was looking for media that would promote change in others lives.

We shot our first set of “that’s WHY” videos last summer and our focus was plugging people into small groups.  Three people took big steps of faith by sharing very personal information about their pasts and growth in their walks as believers. They put their story into video for hundreds of other students to see. They spoke of how small groups helped them develop a closer walk with God and served as a place to process next steps.  Since then, we have gone on to make a total of 7 videos including ones on serving, working, and what it truly means to walk with God.

Our latest “that’s WHY” video is an amazing story of God’s redemption and grace in a dating relationship that was broken, and then restored.  It was a privilege to sit behind the camera and listen to them share the events of their relationship.  Our time filming was spent with high spirits and laughter, but the power of what they went through would occasionally force a loud silence in the room.

The video was made to play in the middle of our dating series which focused on helping students learn what it looks like to date with marriage in mind.  The content of the video lined up so well with Brian’s talks that it seemed as if the three had sat together and planned the whole series. It was amazing to hear Brian’s teaching points play out in Casey and Hannah’s story.  It made what he had to say from stage more than just words, it was real.

After the service on Tuesday night, Casey and Hannah stuck around to be available to talk to anyone who needed an encouraging word or prayer.  Casey told me that he had multiple guys come and thank him for showing that a God centered relationship was obtainable.  Some were trying to make a change in their dating lives and were greatly encouraged to know that it can be done despite struggles.

God is definitely moving in lives and using these videos to connect with people where they are.  To listen to the messages from the dating series, click here.  To watch more of our “that’s WHY” videos visit our “that’s WHY” vimeo channel.

This summer, PC3 is once again taking a team of volunteers to visit Mama Hellen’s Rehabilitation Center in Kenya, a place through which we have had the opportunity to form a lasting relationship with its founder, Pastor Jackson Mwangi, and his wife, Peninah (”Mama Hellen”). Over the last several years, this relationship has paved the way for multiple PC3 teams to visit the boys and girls who live at the center, children who once lived on the streets due to violence, disease and poverty. God has blessed the continuation of our support of this center through various opportunities to give, send and go. Through our HOPE 127 sponsorship program, you can sponsor one of these boys or girls, or contribute in other ways. With the arrival of 30 new children to the center, 90 new sponsors are needed. For more information on how you can become a sponsor, please e-mail missions at PC3.

If Kenya is a place you feel called to serve God and others, or if you simply feel an interest growing in your heart, we encourage you to prayerfully consider joining our August Kenya mission team. The deadline for this trip has been extended to March 21st, 2010. For more information, please visit the Missions tab on our website or e-mail missions at PC3.

To provide a glimpse into the experience of serving at Mama Hellen’s, a team member from one of last year’s Kenya mission trips, Shelly Long, has shared her experience below.

Shelly Long’s Story:

“Going to Kenya was a long-awaited, life-changing experience for me. My heart has longed for Africa since I was in high school; it was hard to believe I was actually there when we landed in Nairobi. It was like finally getting something that your heart had longed for for over 10 years.

Landfill in Nakuru, Kenya (2009)

One of the best, but most difficult experiences of the trip, was when Pastor Jackson took us to a landfill (where people actually live) to bring each family a loaf of bread and a bag of milk. The people of Kenya are extremely grateful and happy, although they have next to nothing. It was a humbling experience, one that made me aware of how truly blessed we are in America to have an abundance of food, clothing and shelter, and a government that ensures everyone has basic necessities.

While at the dump, I picked up a little boy who looked about 2 or 3 years old. His nose was runny, and he had a cough. Although he never smiled, I could actually feel how happy he was to be held. It was like he never got the chance to just relax in someone’s arms. I know for a fact that if I would have taken him with me that day, no one would have stopped me. Putting him down was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.

Shelly Long at Mama Hellen's Rehabilitation Center (2009)

At Mama Hellen’s Rehabilitation Center, a PC3-supported home for street children, I was able to get to know some orphaned children. Two in particular are Chir Chir and Alex. I am now sponsoring Chir Chir through PC3’s HOPE 127 program so that he can continue to live at the center and get a good education. Chir Chir lived on the streets for four years before being rescued by Pastor Jackson. Many Kenya children still live in the streets, and they often succumb to a life of drugs and theft. Their drug of choice (because it is so cheap) is a shoemaker’s glue that they sniff throughout the day. A former street kid who now lives at the center said that he used to sniff glue so that he wouldn’t have to “feel cold, hungry or lonely.”

God has broken my heart for the children of Kenya. They are so unselfish. They have one or two outfits and eat very small portions of food each day. We brought them candy and sodas on the last day of our trip, and they were elated. It was like Christmas. One thing that really shocked me was that they didn’t say, “I don’t like this flavor”—which happens every time I give out candy in my classroom here in America. They never complain about the heat, the flies, their situations. In fact, the entire time I was with them I didn’t hear a single complaint. We took prayer requests one day, and Alex’s prayer request was for the needy. He said, “There are a lot of people suffering in Kenya.” This prayer request was given by a child with no parents, who lives in an orphanage and shares a room with about 15 other boys. All of his belongings fit into one grocery bag that lies at the bottom of his bunk bed. It is amazing that even though they have very little, these boys think of themselves as lucky.

Life is simple in Kenya. They just have the basic necessities. Sometimes I think maybe it’s better that way.”